December 28, 2014

The Twilight Zone S3D4

I had been busy for one reason or another most of the last few sundays and hadn't made the time to return to The Twilight Zone. I'm still on the third season with two discs to go. Most of the discs have 8 episodes on them. Most of these have isolated scores for the extra.

TheFugitive March 9 1962

Written by Charles Beaumont and directed by Richard L. Bare. J Pat O'Malley is an alien who lives on earth. He hangs out with the children of the neighborhood. Jenny is his best friend and she's got a leg brace on. Her aunt is a shrill woman played by Nancy Culp. Someone is looking for J Pat. He turns out to be the king from another planet. His subjects are looking for him, they want him back, he's a good king. I did remember the episode and that J Pat was the ruler of a planet before he told his secret to Jenny. It's all rather slight but mostly enjoyable.

Little Girl Lost March 16 1962

Written by Richard Matheson from a short story published in his 1953 collection The Shores of Space and directed by Paul Stewart. I read that collection and it was pretty good. Some parents wake up to a cries of their daughter. They can't find her but they can hear her. They get their physicist friend to come over and when the dog disappears they figure out that she fell into another dimension. Now they need to figure out how to get their daughter out. One of the episodes that I remember more clearly than most.

Person Or Persons Unknown March 23, 1962

Written by Charles Beaumont and directed by John Brahm. Richard Long wakes up after an evening of drinking only to find out his wife doesn't know him. Everything he had is missing from their place and no one knows him at his job. I didn't remember this one but it was pretty good. It would be pretty scary wake up and no one knows who you are.

The Little People March 30 1962

Written by Rod Serling and directed by William Claxton. Two astronauts are on a planet repairing their space ship. One of them finds a race of tiny people and lords it over them. He terrifies them into building a life size statue of him. He forces the other astronaut to leave so he can be the god of the little people. He'll soon get his as size really doesn't matter in TTZ. This is another episode that I remember, especially the statue.

Four O'Clock April 6 1962

Written by Rod Serling, adapted it from a story by Price Day from the 1959 collection Alfred Hitchcock Presents: 14 of My Favorites in Suspense, and directed by Lamont Johnson. Theodore Bickel is a crazy crank who believes the world is filled with evil people. He fights against them by harrassing their employers. It's not getting results so he develops a plan to make everyone evil 2 foot tall at 4 PM by sheer will alone. He's pretty sad when he shrinks. I didn't remember this one. It's ok but it's not going to be one of my favorites.

Hocus-Pocus and Frisby April 13 1962

Written by Rod Serling, adapted from an unpublished story by Frederic Louis Fox, directed by Lamont Johnson. Andy Devine is a small town store owner who tells tall tales. When some aliens hear his tales they think he's the real thing and kidnap him for their zoo. Luckily for Andy he manages to escape. Of course no one believes him when he tells them what happened. It's another that I remember. Pretty silly to say the least.

The Trade-Ins April 13 1962

Written by Rod Serling and directed by Elliot Silverstein. An old couple wants to trade in their old bodies for new ones. The husband tries to make money by gambling and nearly loses all his money but for a sentimental opponent. He takes the cure and when he sees how it affects his old wife he changes back. Not one of my favorites.

The Gift April 27 1962

Written by Rod Serling, adapted from his original script I Shot an Arrow Into the Air, and directed by Allen H Miner. An alien crash lands near a small village in Mexico. A cop is killed accidentally when he encounters the alien. The alien is wounded and he gets some help from the villagers. The bartender turns him in and he's killed. His gift, a cure for cancer, is ruined by their ignorance. Typical kind of Rod irony type of story which I remembered from when it was new. That sort of irony would have been pretty new to me at the time. Same with how shitty people are, a lesson learned over and over again.

Not a bad bunch of stories for the most part. I really must take more time to finish this series off. I might have some time during the holidays.